Apparatus for straightening bars, rounds, or the like



Feb. 14, 1939. PV 5, ABRAMSEN 2,147,589

APPARATUS FOR STRALGHTENING BARS, ROUNDS. OR THE LIKE Filed Uune 50, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Feb. 14, 1939.

P. B. ABRAMSEN APPARATUS FOR STRAIGH'IENING BARS, ROUNDS, OR THE LIKE Filed June 30, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IINVENTOR amed Feb. 14, 1939 UNITED STATES APPARATUS FOR STRAIGHTENING BARS,

' ROUNDS OR THE LIKE Petter B. Abramsen, Dormont; Pa., assignor of one-half to Frederic Schaefer, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application June 30, 1936, Serial No. 88,159

3 Claims.

The present invention relates generally to the cold rolling of bars or rounds or the like, and more particularly to the straightening and sizing of such articles by cold rolling in machines of 5 the cross rolling type.

By my invention I provide a new and improved apparatus for accomplishing the sizing and and straightened so as to render them truly circular within a thousandth of an inch.

In accordance with my invention (which will be hereinafter described as applied to the sizing and straightening of guide rounds) the rounds are passed through a plurality of stands of rolls somewhat in the manner described in my Patent No. 1,979,133 relating to Cross rolling machines. In accordance with the present invention, however, the rounds are engaged by successive pairs of rolls which progressively engage increasingly longer portions of the rounds as they pass therethrough; that is to say, each pair of rolls engages and works upon a greater length of the round at any given instant than the immediately preceding pair of rolls. I preferably employ .three stands of rolls. The first stand of rolls has cylindrical surfaces. The rolls of the second stand are slightly concave and the rolls of the third stand are still more concave. In consequence the first stand engages only a relatively short length of the round at any time. This is conducive to flow of, the metal in the bar without any tendency to open itup at the center. The rolls of the second stand, as stated above, are slightly concave and this results in the rolls of this stand engaging the material over a greater length; but as the round has been previously worked upon by truly cylindrical rolls, there is no tendency to open up the material at the center. The same is true with respect to the rolls of the third stand. By the time the material reaches this stand of rolls it has been previously subjected to working operations without any upsetting of the center thereof. t

The first and third stands of rolls are preferably driven and the second stand preferably merely an idler pass. The first and third stands of rolls are preferably in line with each other, whereas the intermediate or second stand is off- (CI. -13) I set to some extent vertically so as to eiiect the desired straightening of thematerial as it passes .through the mill.

While my invention is not limited to any particular degree 01} concavity of the rolls of the second and third passes, I have found it desirable to make the rolls in these stands sufliciently concave to insure that there will be no spiral indentations or markings on the material due to its passage through the cylindrical rolls of the first stand.

In addition to the above features of my invention, in the mill which I provide the spindles for driving the bottom rolls ofv the first and third pass extend in substantial alinement with the axes of the rolls and substantially parallel with each other to the driving unit for driving the rolls. This permits these rolls to be driven by a single motor which drives a small pinion gear which in turn drives the gears attached to the shafts for driving the spindles. Likewise the spindles for the top rolls of the two driven passes extend in substantial alinement with the axes in their respective rolls, and substantially parallel with each other and, therefore, may be readily driven by a single motor through very simple gearing.

Further, in accordance with my invention, I provide a mill which is of exceedingly simple construction and is so arranged that the upper half'of the housing which carries the upper rolls of the three passes may be formed entirely separately from the lower half of the housing and may be hinged to the lower half of the housing atone side thereof so that the 'whole upper half of the housing and the rolls carried thereby can readily be separated from the lower half of the housing by merely unscrewing a few bolts and swinging the upperhalf of the housing about the hinges. This greatly facilitates examination of the surfaces of the rolls and roll replacement.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown for purposes of illustration only a mill embodying a preferred form of my invention. It will be understood, however, that my invention is not of a mill embodying Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line VV of Figure 3; v

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line VI--VI of Figure 1; and

Figure 7 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line VIIVII of Figure 3.

In the machine shown in the drawings, the housing is formed in two parts, a lower portion 2 and an upper portion 3. The upper and lower portions of the housing are arranged and means provided therein for each supporting three 01' the cross rolls; that is, the upper portion provides support for the three upper rolls and the lower portion provides support for the three lower rolls. The parts are so arranged that the upper and lower portions of the housing may be entirely separated from each other along the pass line so as to permit ready access to the interior of the machine. Adjusting mechanism hereinafter more fully described is provided so that the lower roll in each pair or cross rolls may be adjusted vertically for adjusting the pass to permit rolling of various sizes of rounds. Adjusting mechanism is also provided for the upper roll in the intermediate or idler pass so as to permit adjustment of the pass formed by the idler rolls relative to the pass formed by the other two pairs of rolls. This not only permits the adjustment of the size of the pass between the idler rolls, but it also permits the adjustment of the pass formed by the two idler rolls relative to the line of travel of material. This is of considerable advantage-in the straightening oi the rounds.

As shown in Figures 3, 5 and 7, the lower rolls 4 and 5 of the first and third passes, respectively, and the lower roll 6 of the intermediate or idler pass are provided with necks I which are mounted in roller bearings 3 which are mounted in chock blocks 3 mounted in windows ID in the housing. One of the necks I on each of the lower rolls 4 and 5 isprovided with a cruciformshaped portion H for connection to a spindle l2 by an ordinary Wobbler connection i 3. Eachof the spindles I 2 is arranged to be driven by a motor, l4 through a pinion gear I 5 and driven gears I 6 for driving the rolls.

As stated above, provision is made for adjusting all three of the lower rolls so as to permit the rolling of material of various sizes. As shown in Figures 3 and 5, each of the rolls 4 and 5 may be adjusted vertically in the housing by means of a wedge i1 appropriately connected by a pin I! to a threaded rod l3. Each rod is is threaded through a rotary block 26 mounted in the lower portion 2 of the housing. Each rotary block 20 is provided with a hand-wheel 2 l which is rigidly secured thereto so as to facilitate rotation of the block. As will be understood, rotation of the threaded block 20 will move the threaded rod IS in one direction or another so as to appropriately raise or lower the roll by means of the wedge II. A lock nut 22 is threaded on the outer end of each rod I! so as to prevent relative movement between the threaded rod l6 and the threaded block 20 when it is desired to hold the roll pass in any adjusted position.

The idler roll 6 is, of course, not provided with a cruciform end portion as it' is not connected to driving mechanism such as that utilized for driving the rolls 4 and 5. However, adjusting means identical with that above described for adjusting the rolls 4 and 5 is provided for the idler roll.

In view of the fact that the adjusting mechanism for the idler roll is the same as that shown for the driven rolls 4 and 5, it will be unnecessarywith recessed portions 30 adapted to cooperate with supporting rods 3| extending upwardly through openings 32 in the housing. Springs 33 are provided adjacent the upper end of the supporting rods 3| and one end of each spring is adapted to bear against a bearing block 34 carried by the housing. The upper end of each of the springs 33 is adapted to cooperate with a cup-shaped member 35 which is held in position over each spring by appropriate nuts 36 threaded on the upper threaded ends of the rods 3|.

In order ,to permit of appropriate vertical adjustment of the roll 25 so as to permit adjustment oi the intermediate pass relative to the pass formed by the other two pairs of rolls, a wedge 3'1 isinterposed between the chock blocks and the housing, which wedge may be moved in one direction or another in order to raise or lower the roll. Similarly to the wedge II, the wedge 31 is connected .by a pin 38 to a rod 39 having a threaded portion 40 threaded in a rotary block 4| carried by the housing. The rotary block 4| is provided with a hand-wheel 42 so as to facilitate rotation thereof and movement of the rod 39 in one direction or another for effecting the desired adjustment of the roll. 'A lock nut 43 is provided for maintaining the wheel 42 in any ad-.

justed position.

The upper driven rolls 23 and 24 are mounted in the upper portion 3 of the housing in a manner somewhat similar to the mounting for the intermediate roll 25 except that provision is not made for vertical adjustment of these rolls. in Figures 1 and 6, the rolls 23 and 24 are provided with necks and 5|. The necks 50 and 5| are each mounted in appropriate roller bearings which in turn are mounted in chock blocks 52 mounted in windows 53 in the housing. These chock blocks are maintained in fixed position by means of bolts 54 which are held in position by nuts 55 and 56.

The necks 5| of the rolls 23 and 24 are provided with appropriate Wobbler driving connections 51 for connection to spindles 58. The spindles 58 are driven by a motor 59 through a pinion gear 60 and driven gears 6|. An appropriate connection 62 is, of course, provided between each of the spindles 58 and the shafts upon which the gears iii are mounted.

Hinges 65 are mounted on the upper and lower portions of the mill housing so that the upper portion and the rolls carried thereby may be swung upwardly to permit ready access to the rolls for examination and for replacement. In order to open up the mill to permit access to the rolls itisonly necessary to remove the bolts 66 which are spaced at various intervals around the edges of the mill housing and. to swing the upper portion of the housing about the hinges 65. It will be understood, of course. that in operation it is necessary that the bolts 66 be utilized in order to hold the upper and lower portions of the housing in proper position relative to each other.

As shown a It will be noted from the drawings that the spindles 58 which are utilized for driving the rolls 23 and 24 and the driving mechanism are arranged so that they lie along the axes of their respective rolls and also thatthey are substantially parallel with each other. This arrangement, as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art, permits of a greatly simplified driving mechanism, for the rolls 23 and 24 may be readily driven from a common motor, without any extensive gear train, the driving being effected by a single pinion 60 cooperating with driven gears 8| mounted on shafts which are connected directly to the wobblers. v j

The same is true with respect to the drive for the lower rolls. In this case the spindles I! extend axially of the rolls and substantially parallel with each other and may be readily connected by a very simple mechanism to a single driving motor.

The working face of each of the rolls 4 and 23 forming the first pass is substantially cylindrical. Consequently as the material passes between these rolls. it is only contacted throughout a small portion of its length by the roll faces. The rolls 8 and 25 forming the second pass are shaped differently than the rolls -in the first pass. The working faces of these rolls are slightly concave so that as the material passes between these rolls a longer section of the material is contacted by the roll faces at given instant. The roll faces of the rolls and 24 forming the third pass in the apparatus which I have shown in the drawings are still more concave than the rolls in the second pass and, consequently, as the material passes between these rolls a still greater length of the material is contacted at any given instant.

In the foregoing description I have described the working faces of the rolls in the initial pass as being cylindrical or substantially cylindrical. I have also stated that'such rolls provide point contact. By the use of the term substantially cylindrical I mean that the rolls shall be of such character as to give point contact between the rolls and the material being worked upon. By the expression point contact" I mean that the contact shall be of such character as to result in sizing of the material. Where line contact is obtained sizing cannot be eflected.

I have found that highly desirable results can be obtained where the material is successively rolled between rolls of the character described above. I have found that excellent sizing and straightening is eflected without there being any possibility of breaking down the center of the material being worked upon. I have found that it is relatively easy to appropriately size and straighten guide rounds within their usual tolerance so that after being worked upon they will be truly circular within approximately one-thousandth oi an inch. I have found that by this method of rolling, the hardness and ductility of the material can be controlled.

Advantages other than those pointed out above, such as the compactness and the relatively inexpensive construction cost, will be readily apparent to those skilled in this art.

As stated above the above description is only of a preferred embodiment of my invention and it may be otherwise embodied and practiced within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A mill for sizing and straightening rounds or the like comprising a plurality of pairs of cross rolls forming successive roll passes, the working faces of the rolls in the initial pass being substantially cylindrical and the centers of said rolls being substantially opposite each other, and the working faces of the rolls in at least one of the succeeding passes being concave, means for driving at least one pair of rolls, and means for adlusting at least one cross roll in each pass relative to the other cross roll.

2. A mill for sizing and straightening rounds or the like comprising a plurality of pairs of cross rolls forming successive roll passes, the working faces of the cross rolls in one pair being cylindrical and being disposed so that their centers are substantially opposite each other and the working faces of the cross rolls in a succeeding pair being concave.

3. A mill for sizing and straightening rounds or the like comprising a plurality of pairs of cross rolls forming successive roll passes, the working faces of the cross rolls in one pair being cylindrical and said rolls being so disposed that their centers are substantially opposite each other and the working faces in succeeding roll passes being arranged to contact increasingly greater lengths of the material than the preceding passes.

PEI'I'ER B. ABRAMSEN. 

